31 January, 2005

Researchers in Boston have pinpointed a primary trigger for the most common form of diabetes and have uncovered evidence that simple, inexpensive aspirin-like drugs could keep the disease that affects millions in check.

The researchers, from Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, discovered a genetic ''master switch" in the liver that is turned on when people become obese. Obesity has long been linked to diabetes, but the reason, until now, has been unknown. Joslin researchers found that once on, this switch produces low-level inflammation, which disrupts the body's ability to process insulin, causing type 2 diabetes.

But the researchers took the finding one step further. Reasoning that aspirin-like drugs are used to quell inflammation, they successfully used the drugs, called salicylates, to eliminate the symptoms of type 2 diabetes in mice. Human tests are already underway in Boston, though no results have been published.

''These drugs, among the safest drugs known, can do a surprisingly good job of toning down this inflammation," said Joslin researcher Dr. Steven E. Shoelson, lead author of the paper. ''These are hopeful ideas for the future."

Shoelson warned against rushing out to get salicylates. Their effectiveness has been proved thus far only in mice.

''No one should go out and take these drugs," said Shoelson. He said losing weight, exercising, and eating healthy are the obvious things to do.

Nonetheless, researchers at Joslin were excited about their findings and are preparing federal grant requests to fund a major, multicity trial of salicylate therapy for type 2 diabetes. And there are indications that the drugs could also help stave off heart disease.

I have a couple of family members that are diabetic, and I know that this has to make them happy. It may not cure them, but it may help prevent it.

28 January, 2005

A Slovak man trapped in his car under an avalanche freed himself by drinking 60 bottles of beer and urinating on the snow to melt it.

Rescue teams found Richard Kral drunk and staggering along a mountain path four days after his Audi car was buried in the Slovak Tatra mountains.

He told them that after the avalanche, he had opened his car window and tried to dig his way out.

But as he dug with his hands, he realised the snow would fill his car before he managed to break through.

He had 60 half-litre bottles of beer in his car as he was going on holiday, and after cracking one open to think about the problem he realised he could urinate on the snow to melt it, local media reported.

He said: "I was scooping the snow from above me and packing it down below the window, and then I peed on it to melt it. It was hard and now my kidneys and liver hurt. But I'm glad the beer I took on holiday turned out to be useful and I managed to get out of there."

Though, No-Neck would have probably asked for another as soon as they rescued him...

OCALA, Fla. -- Two boys, ages 9 and 10, were charged with felonies and taken away from school in handcuffs, accused of making violent drawings of stick figures.

The boys were arrested Monday on charges of making a written threat to kill or harm another person, a second-degree felony.

The special education students used pencil and red crayon to draw primitive stick figure scenes on scrap paper that showed a 10-year-old classmate being stabbed and hung, police said.

"The officer found they were drawing these pictures for the sole purpose of intimidating and scaring the victim," said Ocala Police Sgt. Russ Kern.

The boy depicted in the drawings told his teacher, who took the sketches and contacted the school dean, Marty Clifford. Clifford called police, who arrested the boys after consulting with the State Attorney's Office.

They were also suspended from school.

This is beyond the pale. Two so-called "retarded" boys draw stick figures stabbing and hanging another; how many of you drew the same thing?

Well, as we could read from the last line, it certainly will go on their permanent record...

24 January, 2005

I was busy and then sick over the weekend, but I did collect some links for your anger, disgust, enjoyment, and anyway else you wish to describe them.

On an very interesting note, it seems we can now print skin, or at least the first steps towards it.

"SCIENTISTS at Manchester University have developed a printer able to produce human skin to help wounds heal.

It could be used on patients who have suffered burns and disfigurements. With more research it could even replace broken bones.

Using the same principle as an ink-jet printer, experts are able to take skin cells from a patient's body, multiply them, then print out a tailor-made strip of skin, ready to sew on to the body. The wound's dimensions are entered into the printer to ensure a perfect fit."

Of course, this would probably interest Bane, so he could have a few lovely lasses cover their tattoos- but not the scars, IIRC he likes those.

And for those wondering what types of drugs the students at Harvard take, we have this item:

"The confidential drug purchase histories of many Harvard students and employees have been available for months to any internet user, as have the e-mail addresses of high-profile undergraduates whose contact information the University legally must conceal, a Crimson investigation has found."

Of course, we need not worry about such flaws in the system because this type of software justs keeps getting better, and better:

"Two British companies have come up with a new system that will monitor company PCs for abuse, including criminal activity.

Security company 3ami and storage specialist BridgeHead Software Ltd. claim the Monitoring, Auditing & Security (MAS) system is able to track and store details of every action performed at a PC over time, including taking screenshots of open applications. This information could be retrieved at a later point and would be time-stamped to be legally admissible if a situation went to court.

Examples of abuse are detection of conventional issues such as time wasting and the installation of unapproved software, but the system would also track more sophisticated problems such use of derogatory language in emails, copying of confidential files, and attempts by criminals to subvert organizations from within.

It will also track when users try to hide their tracks by saving files with new file names, copying them to any attached drives or using external applications such as Webmail to send them out of the network."

"America's second biggest bank, JP Morgan Chase, has made a rare apology for its subsidiaries' involvement in the slave trade 200 years ago, admitting that it accepted slaves as loan collateral and ended up owning several hundred.

The Wall Street heavyweight said parts of the business accepted thousands of slaves as collateral on loans made to plantation owners in the South in the early 19th century.

It sent a letter to employees expressing contrition for its involvement in a "brutal and unjust institution". It made the disclosure to comply with a rule requiring companies to detail past dealings with the trade when they are doing business with the city of Chicago.

Citizens' Bank and Canal Bank in Louisiana, both now part of JP Morgan, served plantations from the 1830s until the American civil war, which ended in 1865.

The banks sometimes took ownership of slaves when the plantation owners defaulted on loans.

The company estimated that between 1831 and 1865 the two banks accepted approximately 13,000 slaves as collateral and ended up owning about 1,250 slaves."

Now, why they should "feel" bad is beyond my comprehension, but they now must "feel" gratified with their confession and public angst having been displayed.

1. (FOUO) INTERNATIONAL: Commercial Flight Bound for U.S. Diverted due to Bomb Threat. According to CBP Reporting, on 26 September, an Olympic Airways flight from Athens to JFK International Airport was diverted to London following three anonymous phone calls to an Athens news station stating that a bomb was aboard the aircraft. British military aircraft escorted the flight into London?s Stansted International Airport and landed without incident. All passengers, carry-on items, and checked baggage were re-screened with negative results. Due to ?flight hour? restrictions, the aircraft was canceled until 27 September. (CBP Morning Report, 26 Sep 04; HSOC 3576-04)

2. (FOUO) MAINE: Suspicious Persons in Southwest Harbor. According to 23 September USCG reporting, a concerned citizen reported suspicious behavior by three men of possible Middle Eastern descent at a convenience store located in Southwest Harbor. The men were asking if any local businesses rented power boats, kayaks, or bikes. The men were driving a maroon-colored van with Florida license plates. The reporting citizen stated that although he initially thought the men?s behavior was suspicious, he did not think to report it, until he learned that the Queen Mary II would be making a port visit to Bar Harbor on 27 September. An investigation is ongoing. (COGARD Southwest Harbor; 23 Sep 04; HSOC 3577-04)

3. (FOUO) UTAH: Subject Arrested for Making Threats to Senator?s Office. According to FPS reporting, on 22 September, in Salt Lake City, as the result of a joint investigation with the U.S. Capitol Police, an FPS Special Agent arrested an individual who had threatened a Congressional staff member. Reportedly, on 13 September, the arrested individual had contacted the Salt Lake City offices of Senator Hatch and threatened to kill one of the office staff members. On 23 September, the individual was arraigned and remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service. He will undergo a psychological evaluation. (CCN: D04017091; HSOC 3578-04)

4. (FOUO) MASSACHUSETTS: Possible Video Surveillance of Interstate Highway. According to military reporting, on 22 September, in Lexington, a military member reported observing four Middle Eastern individuals standing on an I-95 overpass videotaping the northbound traffic and recording information into a notebook. Reportedly, the same military member recalled observing two of the individuals on the same overpass in late February or early March 2004. (AFOSI Talon 102-23-09-04-2297; 23 Sep 04; HSOC 3579-04)

5. (FOUO) CALIFORNIA: Security Breach at National City Terminals. According to USCG reporting, on 23 September, in San Diego, a dock worker reported that a soaking wet male was sitting on the dock at the National City Terminal. When questioned by the dock worker, the man stated that his boat had been overturned and he swam to the dock. When security was notified, the man climbed the fence before he could be questioned. San Diego harbor shore and water units responded but could not locate the individual or any signs of an overturned vessel. An investigation is underway. (USCG Operational Summary, 25 Sep 04; HSOC 3580-04)

6. (FOUO) ILLINOIS: Two Incidents of Suspicious Surveillance of the Chicago METRA Trains. According to Illinois State Police reporting, on 24 September, in Chicago, there were two separate suspicious incidents of photographic surveillance that took place at local METRA Stations. The first surveillance incident involved a named individual and occurred at the LaSalle METRA station. The second incident involved a Mexican citizen and took place at the Kensington METRA station. The Illinois State Police is investigating these incidents. (JRIES, 24 Sep 04; HSOC 3559-04 and 3560-04)

7. (FOUO) NEW YORK: Investigation Uncovers Precursors for Explosives. According to law enforcement reporting, on 24 September, in Long Island, Nassau County police noticed an individual who had just gotten out of the water near the Atlantic Beach Bridge. During a consensual search of his vehicle, police found chemicals, batteries, and electronic equipment. A search of the individual?s residence revealed inert 40mm grenades, re-primed grenades, rolls of fuse, a loaded handgun, items possibly used in the formulation of explosives, miscellaneous fireworks, and exploded debris. The individual is a naturalized citizen of the U.S. who has a military special operations background from 1968 to 1970. (HSIN updates 25 Sep 04; HSOC 3581-04)

8. (FOUO) U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: Chemical Bomb Threat to Airport. According to BTS reporting, on 24 September, at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix, CBP officers reported that the airport received a chemical bomb threat against the airport from an anonymous male caller with an Arabic accent. Authorities immediately evacuated the airport and notified the appropriate response agencies to search the airport. No bomb was discovered and airport operations were resumed. (BTS Daily Operations Report, 26 Sep 04; HSOC 3570-04)

I really liked the seventh one, as that describes so many homes in Texas. Naturally he could have said he has all of it for hunting. However, if those tools will not bag what you want in the field, you could always do what this enterprising young man did for his class, and go to the pet store:

A Guinea pig and rabbit purchased from a Geauga County pet store ended up on plates at a Cleveland area high school.

A 16-year-old student skinned and cooked the animals during a living skills class on Wednesday, prompting student and parent complaints to the Thompson Township Police Department and Geauga Humane Society. Officials at both agencies said they are investigating.

Friday editions of the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER detail how the incident may warrant animal cruelty charges.

Ledgemont Principal Beto Gage acknowledged that "misjudgments" took place but said the boy's actions are far from criminal.

The student - whose name was not released - described what he did in terms of harvesting meat to fix a dish for classmates, Gage said.

The principal described the boy as an active hunter. The Ledgemont district covers the rural communities of Montville and Thompson townships, where killing - and then eating - wild game is fairly common.

The hunt, however, usually doesn't take place at Pet Supplies Plus.

The boy went to the Chardon store and purchased the Guinea pig and rabbit after coming up empty in the great outdoors.

"My skin's crawling over this," said Linda Schempp, a spokeswoman for the pet store chain. "We sell our animals to be family pets - not food."

I not see what he did wrong- and it was educational. I guess I will have to take the family out and buy a rabbit now. I will give everyone a call and let them now how tasty it was...

Sen. Barbara Boxer says she is the real victim of last week's confirmation hearing for Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice, yet continued yesterday to question the national security adviser's honesty.

21 January, 2005

This article is one of many reason I do not think that governments should spend one penny on foreign aide or relief.

As I went through the breakfast line, I overheard one of the U.N. strap-hangers, a longhaired guy with a beard, make a sarcastic comment to one of our food servers. He said something along the lines of ?Nice china, really makes me feel special,? in reference to the fact that we were eating off of paper plates that day. It was all I could do to keep from jerking him off his feet and choking him, because I knew that the reason we were eating off paper plates was to save dishwashing water so that we would have more water to send ashore and save lives. That plus the fact that he had no business being there in the first place.

My attitude towards these unwanted no-loads grew steadily worse that day as I learned more from one of our junior officers who was assigned to escort a group of them. It turns out that they had come to Indonesia to ?assess the damage? from the Dec. 26 tsunami.

Well, they could have turned on any TV in the world and seen that the damage was total devastation. When they got to Sumatra with no plan, no logistics support and no five-star hotels to stay in, they threw themselves on the mercy of the U.S. Navy, which, unfortunately, took them in. I guess our senior brass was hoping for some good PR since this was about the time that the U.N. was calling the United States ?stingy? with our relief donations.

As a result of having to host these people, our severely over-tasked SH-60 Seahawk helos, which were carrying tons of food and water every day to the most inaccessible places in and around Banda Aceh, are now used in great part to ferry these ?relief workers? from place to place every day and bring them back to their guest bedrooms on the Lincoln at night. Despite their avowed dedication to helping the victims, these relief workers will not spend the night in-country, and have made us their guardians by default.

When our wardroom treasurer approached the leader of the relief group and asked him who was paying the mess bill for all the meals they ate, the fellow replied, "We aren?t paying, you can try to bill the U.N. if you want to."

Go read the rest of the article and be just as pissed as Kim du Toit (it was his blog where I found the article and link).

19 January, 2005

Defender of the united States Constitution and the Bill of Rights- bwahahahahahahaha!

Of course, he also picks men who are as well, just like Alberto Gonzalez, Jr. who has this to say about the Second Amendment:

"I worry about his safety and the types of weapons he will confront on the street," Gonzales said. "The president has made it clear that he stands ready to sign a reauthorization of the federal assault weapons ban if it is sent to him by Congress. I, of course, support the president on this issue."

And on the PATRIOT Act, he says this:

"I believe the USA PATRIOT Act has greatly improved our nation's ability to detect and prevent terrorist attacks," Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee in written answers to questions left over from his confirmation hearing.

More on his understanding of the united States Constitution, as reported Assocaited Press via Yahoo Asia (yes, you read that correctly) can be found here.

I know I am feeling safer in my bed at night because of strong brave men such as he...

Neither events are touted today by many people, and most are happy to have the Martin Luther King, Jr. paid vacation. Of course, no mention was made that January 17th, 2005 was the one-hundredth and ninety-ninth birthday of one of our Founding Fathers- Benjamin Franklin.

No, we honor Michael King, who I will add, is the only person in united States history to have a day named entirely for himself, as a great paragon of virtue whom we should emulate and our children are taught that he was a saint- well, I won't...

18 January, 2005

The Coming Wars
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
What the Pentagon can now do in secret.
Issue of 2005-01-24 and 31
Posted 2005-01-17

George W. Bush?s reelection was not his only victory last fall. The President and his national-security advisers have consolidated control over the military and intelligence communities? strategic analyses and covert operations to a degree unmatched since the rise of the post-Second World War national-security state. Bush has an aggressive and ambitious agenda for using that control?against the mullahs in Iran and against targets in the ongoing war on terrorism?during his second term. The C.I.A. will continue to be downgraded, and the agency will increasingly serve, as one government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon put it, as ?facilitators? of policy emanating from President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. This process is well under way.

Despite the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the Bush Administration has not reconsidered its basic long-range policy goal in the Middle East: the establishment of democracy throughout the region. Bush?s reelection is regarded within the Administration as evidence of America?s support for his decision to go to war. It has reaffirmed the position of the neoconservatives in the Pentagon?s civilian leadership who advocated the invasion, including Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Douglas Feith, the Under-secretary for Policy. According to a former high-level intelligence official, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff shortly after the election and told them, in essence, that the naysayers had been heard and the American people did not accept their message. Rumsfeld added that America was committed to staying in Iraq and that there would be no second-guessing.

?This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone,? the former high-level intelligence official told me. ?Next, we?re going to have the Iranian campaign. We?ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah?we?ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.?

Thanks Sharkey, as it is a long and detailed read that should raise many questions in everyones mind.

However, just remember where the "WoT" is being fought the most. If you are not sure where this is at, open your front door and walk outside...

16 January, 2005

I have been very busy for the last several days and have not had a chance to really post.

I am waiting on the video of the 60 Minutes hit piece on the BMG .50 Caliber and Ronnie Barrett, as I captured no audio on my system recording. As soon as I get it in, I will follow-up with it.

I did respond in the comments section to a request from Perpetual Shorty on his blog posting here, and am posting my response here as well for todays posting.

The response is from an instructor of mine, Master Bob, and myself:

In the first place, you are correct, self-defense is an attitude. Without the attitude, you will hesitate, and become another victim.

Women must understand that they are important to somebody. This may seem obvious, but in a self-defense situation, many women do no grasp how important she is to her husband, children, parents, and her friends, and that nobody has the right to harm her. A woman's hesitation in a self-defense situation results in her becoming a victim, which in turn results in her husband not having a wife, her kids not having a mother, her parents not having a daughter and so on, but most women do not see the entire picture and thus become victims.

How one cannot believe, with their entire being, in the right to self-defense, is something I have always had a hard time comprehending- but many women do not. Irrespective of all of the conflicting pabulum that women are bombarded with daily, they must understand that this includes up to, and the use of "deadly force". She must have the mind set that she will fight to defend herself to her last breath.

Otherwise, another piece of data is added to the ledgers of criminal statistics.

Some kind of training is necessary, even if it is the reading of a book on self-defense, though this is a very poor substitute for hands-on training. People tend only to perform as they have been trained to perform. A minority of people can, at times, surpass this, but most tend to do no more. I firmly think that just getting in the right mindset is the first step in that direction but some of the right training is highly recommended. I recall one training course I took several years ago, in which the instructor related a story, I think from one of Paxton Quigley's books, where a woman with a high brown-belt degree in some martial art, was attacked, beaten and I think raped. When asked why she did not use her skills to defend herself, she responded that she was "afraid" of hurting him. Men, instinctively, do not expect women to respond in such situations, therefore they have the advantage- but when a woman resists with some kind of response, let alone a trained one, it is usually enough to get the edge on escaping. And, I mean getting away- not taking on a man one on one. Anyone intent on harming you will harm you if given the chance. Therefore, it is important that a woman respond as fast as possible so that she can escape, and that the chance is not afforded to the criminal.

Some researchers have said that a woman should not respond, especially to sexual assault because it will only make the attacker angrier and thus she will be hurt worse. Others say that you have a better chance if you do resist. An instructor I know likes what the studies at UCLA came up with years ago: Whatever you do, if you live to talk about it, you did the right thing.

Women are more aggressive now in many facets of their lives, and I think, and in some ways, it can get them in trouble with certain men who have an unstable character anyway. However, in other ways, if they handle things right they can talk their way out of certain undesirable situations.

An instructor of mine, whose instructors had taught him, and what I had learned much earlier in life, is that when confronted with a man who seems crazy, then just act crazier than he. I knew that this worked, as I had used it upon several occasions earlier in my life. Nevertheless, talking and antics are not always going to work, and should never be depended upon. Tactics are something women should know- which returns us to training with the right person.

A good instructor, when training, will teach that she should look for an escape route and tell her to not allow herself to be caught against a wall, and do not ever end up on the ground (any instructor who says go to the ground is full of it). Never end up on the ground. They will teach her to recognize and look for environmental weapons (anything around you that can be used to cut, gouge, blind, scrape, pierce, choke, or hit with). Women carry lots of these in their purse, pens, pencils, combs, brushes, perfume spray- even mirrors.

Also, the instructor will teach her not get caught in grocery store parking lot with both arms full of groceries and her keys in her purse. This may seem simplistic, but that is why carts were invented. She should have her keys in hand on the way to the car and be ready to slash or gouge with them if necessary. She should carry something heavy, such as a Maglite flashlight in her car to carry with her at night on such activities. She should always carry a small, but easily accessible pocket or clip knife in her bag or keep one in the coin try in the car. Pepper spray is legal and cheap. However, she needs to insure it is not five (5) years old- and to replace it now and again, and test it to make sure it still has propellant (not into the wind!). She should also be taught to watch her temper- and to not get into verbal arguments with strangers. If being followed, go to a public place with lots of people and to keep her cell-phone handy. Alternatively, she can go to the police station. She should not go home, she must turn around and go in the opposite direction and to always have a plan of action (tactics) if things go bad.

That brings us to carrying the best self-defense tool there is, and that is a handgun. Many women are very reluctant, as we know, to pick-up, let alone carry one. There are volumes of books, better written and more instructive than I can provide here. However, women should not be afraid of hurting someone when forced into a self-defense situation. The alternative is that they will be hurt at best, killed at worst!

Which means, after the initial attitude training above, she needs to know that pulling the trigger, if she has to, is not the wrong thing to do- morally or ethically...

However, if you wait just a bit longer (scroll to the very bottom of the link), the fine Dirty Bomb folks will have their own key-fob version too. Nevertheless, if you are just looking for a Dirty Bomb detector, then there is no need to wait.

06 January, 2005

The first article link is directly to CBS' site, the second artilce link is to the Google cached version which is applicable to my post.

I will be doing a follow-up to this post this week, as my opinion of CBS has worsened .

I have a full video recording with no audio- but do a have the transcript. Does anyone have a full video and audio recording?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the title of the CBS 60 Minutes article that is on it's website, and the name of their news segment to air this Sunday at 19:00EST.

Here are the first three paragraphs from the website (actually the Google Cache)article:

"(CBS) A military rifle capable of piercing armor from over a mile away is too readily available to civilians, and could end up in terrorists' hands, say critics of the .50-caliber weapon that is for sale in 49 states.

"I think it's a great thing on the battlefield," says one of the weapon's chief critics, Tom Diaz of the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C."

Now, I don't know about you, but this reads like pure propaganda to me, particularly in light of the fact, that the history of the long range .50 caliber rifle received it's start, where, you and CBS have already asked? (Well maybe you dear readers have, but CBS has not.) From the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association history page:

"For all its advantages, the .50 BMG cartridge would most likely have remained a machine-gun cartridge in the military's eyes, had it not been for the founders of the FCSA. In the 1980's, some people such as Skip Talbot, Marty Liggins, etc. saw the fifty's potential as a RIFLE cartridge for long-range, 1000-yard, CIVILIAN match/competition uses. The resulting private interest in this caliber spawned the FCSA. The success these civilian fifty shooters experienced in pinpoint, precision, long-range shooting, has led to the adoption of this caliber for sniper, counter-sniper, EOD, and anti-material applications by the US military; other government agencies; and many, larger, police SWAT/Emergency Response Teams."

We do not hear from Ronnie Barrett, the owner of Barrett Rifles, until the ninth paragraph of the web article. For those that do not know who Ronnie Barrett is, he is the man that has produced some of the finest examples of the .50 caliber rifle in the World. His rifles are chosen by citizens, and the military alike, for the precision craftsmanship and quality his tools produce. The least expensive rifle he sells that is a .50 caliber, the Barrett M99, starts at $3,200.00 without a scope or scope rings.

"Please excuse my slow response on the repair service of the rifle. I am battling to what service I am repairing the rifle for. I will not sell, nor service, my rifles to those seeking to infringe upon the Constitution and the crystal clear rights it affords individuals to own firearms."

The CBS 60 Minutes segment, and the related web article are nothing more than propganda, but what have we come to expect from CBS- as recent events have borne this truth to be shown.

I say watch the program come Sunday, and then light up your local affiliates telephone lines, CBS' corporate programming lines (212) 975-3247 (they answer 46), their E-mail form page, or 60 Minutes directly at 60m@cbs.com.

05 January, 2005

"The director of a Detroit food bank wants to know what happened to 60 turkeys -- 720 pounds of frozen birds -- that his charity gave to members of U.S. Rep. John Conyers' local staff two days before Thanksgiving to give to needy people.

Conyers' Detroit office promised an accounting of any turkey distribution by Dec. 27, but the Gleaners Community Food Bank had received no paperwork as of Tuesday, said the charity's director, Agostinho Fernandes.

Fernandes said he became suspicious that the turkeys didn't get to poor people after hearing from a friend that a federal court worker had said he was offered free turkeys from a member of Conyers' staff.

Conyers' press secretary Karen Morgan said Tuesday that she was told that some of Conyers' staffers gave the turkeys to poor people whose names were provided by the state Family Independence Agency. A fax with those names, she said, was to be sent Tuesday or today to Gleaners.

Maureen Sorbet, a spokeswoman for the FIA, said Tuesday, "I spoke to the central FIA office in Wayne County, and they were unaware of the turkey situation.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - "Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel cannot sue a Web site that published a photo of him with two women above a caption reading "You're never too old to be a pimp," a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The term "pimp" was probably intended as a compliment, the court said. But Knievel said, "What good is law in the United States of America if five or six goddamn bimbos are going to rule against it?"

The Montana native sued after ESPN, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Co., published a photo of the famed stunt driver at the Action Sports and Music Awards in 2001 with his arms around his wife and a second young woman."

(Reuters) -- "The consumers group best known for rating cars and washing machines has turned its testing prowess to condoms to find out which ones measure up best and how other birth control methods compare.

The nonprofit Consumers Union says in a new guide to contraception that the seven top types of condom they studied did not burst despite vigorous testing, and all models met international standards.

But results showed that the top brand, able to take the most punishment, was the Durex Extra Sensitive Lubricated Latex, according to the report.

03 January, 2005

"The Bush administration has signaled that it will propose changing the formula that sets initial Social Security benefit levels, cutting promised benefits by nearly a third in the coming decades, according to several Republicans close to the White House.

Under the proposal, the first-year benefits for retirees would be calculated using inflation rates rather than the rise in wages over a worker's lifetime. Because wages tend to rise considerably faster than inflation, the new formula would stunt the growth of benefits, slowly at first but more quickly by the middle of the century. The White House hopes that some, if not all, of those benefit cuts would be made up by gains in newly created personal investment accounts that would harness returns on stocks and bonds.

But by embracing "price indexing," the president would for the first time detail the painful costs involved in closing the gap between the Social Security benefits promised to future retirees and the taxes available to fund them. In late February or March, the administration plans to produce its proposed overhaul of the system, including creation of personal investment accounts and the new benefit calculation."

FORT WORTH, Texas - (KRT) - In what could become a major hassle for air travelers who smoke, the Homeland Security Department will ban all cigarette lighters beyond airport checkpoints beginning Feb. 15.

The Intelligence Reform Bill that President Bush signed Dec. 17 orders the Transportation Security Administration to review its banned-items list and to prohibit passengers from carrying butane lighters aboard planes. Legislation stipulates that the ban must be in place in 60 days.

"We are reviewing the necessary changes that the Transportation Security Administration will need to make based on the new intelligence legislation," TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said.

And something from the paranoid archives that I was recently reminded of: